A strategic sourcing plan is a process of finding, evaluating, and selecting the best suppliers for your media sales organization. It can help you reduce costs, improve quality, and increase efficiency in your media buying and selling activities. In this article, you will learn the steps to creating a strategic sourcing plan for your organization.
The first step is to define your objectives for your strategic sourcing plan. What are the goals and priorities of your media sales organization? What are the challenges and opportunities in the market? How do you measure your performance and success? By answering these questions, you can establish a clear vision and direction for your sourcing strategy.
Most of the companies would focus their sourcing strategy on cost saving.. however, in a very competitive market where only very few suppliers will be able to provide the critical service or goods that company needs, the ability to secure supply becomes ultimate objective for strategic sourcing. Other times, the company would want to invest in suppliers to develop certain exclusive relationships/ technology/ supply chain model, the ability to identify those potential suppliers become very key to the success of the company. In summary, define the right sourcing strategy requires not only good understanding of the spend, the market but most importantly, understand the business strategy.
As part of Buyer analysis, Understanding your spend and risk is important to evaluate if it is a strategic investment. Following this, and part of Seller analysis, understanding how you fit in seller market - drives the key input to your sourcing strategy! You cannot move mountains, if your spend (strategic) is a tactical for seller!
To create a Strategic Sourcing plan, I should start analysing the business of the companie, O2C, M2S, what is seeking, after that I should start analysing the current supplier panel, total spend, spend for sku, spend for vendor (ABC), Pareto principle, impact on the business categories, supplier evaluations, room for improvement, kind of supply needed, global sourcing, local sourcing,.
In order to be strategic you must clearly define your objectives and goals, once defined it is easy to review, monitor and adjust
The next step is to analyze your spend on media purchases and sales. How much do you spend on different types of media, such as print, digital, radio, TV, etc.? Who are your current suppliers and customers? What are the terms and conditions of your contracts? How do you manage your inventory and delivery? By analyzing your spend, you can identify your current situation and areas for improvement.
The third step is to assess your suppliers and their capabilities. How do they perform in terms of quality, price, service, innovation, and reliability? How do they align with your objectives and values? How do they compare with other potential suppliers in the market? By assessing your suppliers, you can evaluate their strengths and weaknesses and determine their fit for your sourcing strategy.
The fourth step is to develop your strategy for selecting and managing your suppliers. What are the criteria and methods for choosing the best suppliers for your media sales organization? How will you negotiate and establish contracts with them? How will you monitor and review their performance and relationship? How will you handle risks and issues? By developing your strategy, you can plan and execute your sourcing activities effectively and efficiently.
I would add a well develop SWOT analysis and support the strategies with market intelligence references. State of the market, buying/leverage power structure, buying behavior etc.
The fifth step is to implement your strategy and execute your sourcing plan. How will you communicate and collaborate with your suppliers and internal stakeholders? How will you manage the transition and integration of new suppliers? How will you ensure compliance and quality standards? How will you track and report your results and savings? By implementing your strategy, you can achieve your objectives and deliver value to your media sales organization.
The final step is to optimize your strategy and improve your sourcing plan continuously. How will you collect and analyze feedback and data from your suppliers and customers? How will you identify and implement best practices and innovations? How will you adapt and adjust to changing market conditions and customer needs? By optimizing your strategy, you can enhance your performance and competitiveness in the media sales industry.